Library Journal
From forced breeding and involuntary sterilization to the use of invasive methods of birth control (Norplant and Depo-Provera) and more recently welfare reform legislation, Rutgers law professor Roberts traces the history of social policies used by the dominant power structure to control black women's reproductive freedom. Her well-documented work convincingly reveals why black people, and women in particular, have reason to mistrust the medical establishment and government programs, especially those related to family planning. Roberts argues for an expanded concept of liberty that will "facilitate the processes of choice and self-determination" as well as protect individuals against government coercion. -- Faye Powell, Portland State University Library, Oregon
Kirkus Reviews
Roberts's exploration of the history of African-American women and reproductive rights is brilliant, controversial, and profoundly valuable. The author, a professor of law (Rutgers University), brings forth a view of black women wholly ignored by mainstream America. Beginning with slavery and moving to the present day, she argues that white America has perpetuated a legacy of pathological social violence against black women and their reproductive capabilities. Female slaves, Roberts asserts, were often bought with the express purpose of using them as breeders; white males profited by raping black women and selling their children. Later, in the first half of the 20th century, the eugenics movement turned contraception from a tool of women's liberation into a tool of control to cut birth rates among southern blacks, and as late as the 1970s black women were routinely sterilized by hysterectomies that were not medically necessary. More recently, poor black women living in urban areas have been forced by courts, doctors, and health care organizations to be implanted with the Norplant birth-control device; doctors frequently refuse to remove it on request. Roberts's arguments are especially convincing because they are so well researched and thoroughly dissected. Drawn from documented cases, African-American theorists, and media reports, Roberts's knowledge of her subject is total. Instead of painting black women as passive victims of this reproductive racism, she represents them through the image offered by a former slave, Anna Julia Cooper, who characterizes the black woman fighting to protect the bodies of her daughters as "an entrapped tigress." Roberts outlines an agenda for change in thefinal chapter, positioning the book as an important stepping-stone toward transforming the way black women and their children are treated in America."The denial of Black reproductive autonomy serves the interests of white supremacy," Roberts states, and she demands her reader rethink the relationship between race and reproduction.
From the Publisher
Monumental. . . . An important contribution to the literature of civil rights, reproductive issues, racism and feminism.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“Compelling. . . . Deftly shows how distorted and racist constructions of black motherhood have affected politics, law, and policy in the United States.” —Ms.
“Brilliant, controversial, and profoundly valuable. . . . An important stepping-stone toward transforming the way black women and their children are treated in America.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Chilling. . . . It becomes difficult to reject the author’s thesis. . . that there is a sustained, and in some quarters deliberate, campaign to punish Black women—especially the poor—for having children.” —The National Law Journal
“An important and riveting book that skillfully and compellingly explains contemporary challenges to reproductive freedom.” —Patricia Hill Collins, author of Black Feminist Thought
“A must-read for all those who claim to care about racial and gender justice in America.” —Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow
“A leading-edge critique of reproductive racism . . . In this current era, we discover the foresight and absolute necessity of Roberts’s approach.” —Angela Davis
“Race in America cannot be fully understood without reading this compelling investigation. . . . Timely, insightful and unforgettable.” —Bryan Stevenson, author of Just Mercy
“A seminal work. . . . Indispensable. . . . Prescient. . . . Even more urgent and more pertinent than it was twenty years ago.” —Harriet Washington, author of Medical Apartheid
“A work of stunning erudition and finely calibrated moral concern. . . . Urgent, evocative and indispensable.” —William Jelani Cobb, author of The Substance of Hope
